The Three Goodbyes
by lilybele
Summary: Three goodbyes between Akali and Zed scattered between three points of their lives. Two goodbyes come and there is always a return. After the last one, there is no going back.
1. The First Goodbye

((A first ever short that I am working on for Zedkali. This will be updated in due time. The inspiration for this came from this song. Yes, I had this on loop the whole time I had been writing and will be writing xD))

((For obscuram-ens who has been an amazing rp partner and inspiration to me. I hope that this does your muse justice since it does rotate around our headcannons.))

**The First Goodbye.**

She saw him, moving through the dark corridors of the Kinkou temple, moving away from the Master's quarters. Akali smiled to herself, a sly grin crossing her lips as she made her way toward her former mentor silently, not a single sound heard as she moved, her footsteps light, breathing even, copper eyes sparkling. When she was close enough, she dashed forward, jumping onto his back before somersaulting above his head and landing lithely on her feet before him, the gentlest giggle escaping her lips.

"Did I manage to catch you off-guard, Sensei?" she asked, grinning widely, looking pleased at herself.

Zed managed a weak smile, looking startled, almost scared; something he did not usually do whenever she prowled toward him. It had been a regular training between them that continued into a game when Akali was removed from Zed's duty and placed under Shen's instead.

The young girl could only stare at Zed questioningly, copper eyes catching his body language, wondering what could possibly on the ninja's mind. He was jumpy, on edge, something that was very out of character for him.

"Sensei...?"

Without a word, Zed patted Akali's head once, running his fingers through her dark locks absentmindedly before walking away toward his quarters without a word, leaving her standing where she was, copper eyes wide with worry.

The next day came and Akali was out and about early, rushing toward Zed's quarters with concern. Despite her early arrival, she found his room empty, almost as though he had not been in there the whole night. For the next half hour she prowled the Kinkou grounds, trying her best to locate her former mentor, keeping her head low so that she would not be noticed and summoned to complete her tasks for the day.

A shout came from the Master's building, angry and spiteful, the sound of a familiar grunting as a body hit the floor. And Akali knew who exactly those voices belonged to. Breathing heavily, she ran, she ran as fast as her feet would allow her to, toward the commotion.

"Sensei!" she screamed, running toward him who was on the floor before the Master who had his finger pointing toward the temple's exit with anger and disdain.

"OUT! LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!" the Master yelled at the dark form on the floor, crimson eyes staring up at his former Master with surprise and regret.

Before Akali could even move from where she was to get to her former mentor, a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, locking her in their iron strong grip, restraining her from moving any closer to Zed.

Shen.

Zed got up now, bowing lowly before turning away toward the exit, eyes empty and emotionless. An angry red mark was on his cheek, no doubt the work of the Master.

"Sensei!" she screamed, struggling in Shen's grip, fingers scratching at the man's armour uselessly as her legs flailed, "Let me go, Shen!" she hissed, clawing on his arms.

"Let him go, Akali," Shen replied calmly, eyes never leaving his adopted brother's figure as he moved, "You will refer to me as Sensei."

Seething with anger, Akali elbowed her new mentor squarely in the chest with great force, a skill that her former mentor had taught her only a few weeks ago which was still fresh in her mind, sending her captor flinching slightly backwards, loosening his grip on her body. Throwing a dirty look to Shen, Akali wasted no time removing herself from his grip and running toward Zed, screaming his name as the Master looked on with disapproval.

"Leave her be, Shen," he said before Shen could make a move toward Akali, "We shall see where her loyalty lies."

She finally caught him right outside the Toriis of the temple, nearly disappearing into the forest.

"Sensei, wait!" she said, quickly lunging herself onto his arm, her fingers gripping into his skin, making him stay. Zed didn't turn to her, keeping his face away from her, staring at the frozen forest ground below them, gently trying to pry her fingers off him.

"What did you do?" Akali asked, her voice hard, shaky, "Why did Master send you away?" No answer came. "ANSWER ME!" she screamed, sending a flock of birds flying away in panic at the shrill sound of her voice.

Then Zed seemed to be melting in her grip, his body a shadowy black figure as her fingers fell through his being.

"Shadows," came his swift and short reply from behind her.

Akali jumped, turning around in surprise and disbelief, "Why did you...?" she spoke weakly, warm tingles jumping up behind her copper irises.

"WHY ZED?!" she yelled, calling him by his name for the first time in her life, her hands balled into fists before launching herself onto him, punching him repeatedly on his chest, "Why, why why?"

Again, no answer came.

However, an arm did, gently wrapping itself around her, pulling her close so that she could not move her arms, wrapping her in a warmer kind of iron grip, much different to the one Shen had on her. An embrace.

"Don't leave me..." she sobbed weakly into his chest, "Sensei, you can't leave me, we haven't finished our stealth training, we haven't started on ou-"

Her words were cut off by a tighter embrace, a hand running through her dark hair affectionately.

"I can't stay," came the reply.

And with that, his figure was once more a shadowy figure, her body falling through the shadowy form and falling onto the frozen forest floor below.

And he was gone.


	2. The Second Goodbye

**((So sorry for the late upload to the second bit of this. Schoolwork caught up with me but here it is! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!))**

**The Second Goodbye.**

A yell, a thud, a groan of pain. Akali found herself on the ground not the for the first time that morning, wincing slightly as she pulled herself up. The bruise on her shoulder and back were prominent, the blue and black obvious against the pale, ivory skin, looking somewhat swollen.

"Again," came a voice, sharp and commanding.

Shen, who had replaced her mentor stood tall, arms crossed over his chest looking down at her, as usual, with no emotion, nothing. A rock, a stone, an anchor. That's what he called himself. Something for the Kinkou to hold onto, something for the Kinkou to depend on. Someone who will not abandon his duties and responsibilities simply because his heart interfered with what was logical.

With a sigh of frustration, Akali fell into defensive position once more. It was like this everyday with Shen. Not once did he go easy on her, not once did he have a single word of praise for her. She did not feel as though she had progressed, usually leaving training in the evenings with a feeling of bitter disappointment and frustration. Training had been much more different with Zed.

Zed.

How long has it been since he had left? A year? Probably more. Life went on in the Kinkou after that as though Zed had never been there. Shen did not show any signs of frustration or sadness. He was simply the same and Master… well, like father like son as they say. No one spoke of Zed or acknowledged his existence.

It was almost as though he was never there.

Not to Akali, though. Zed was on her mind every hour of every day.

Before she could even begin, Shen had moved to her, easily disarming her, looking almost distracted, barely noticing his student who had hit the floor. The sounds of screaming can be heard by the Master's building, panicked running feet, the clash of metal.

"… Sensei… what?" Akali asked, picking herself up slowly off the floor. Her wide copper eyes looked around the compound, alert and vigilant. Without a word, Shen turned, passing her a pair of metallic kamas.

"Keep these on you, use them if the need arises. Stay here, Akali," he instructed before swiftly leaving.

For a moment she simply stared at the two weapons in her hands, she had never been allowed to wield real weapons, at least, not yet. It had always been training weapons. The metallic things felt heavy in her hands, comfortable.

For awhile, Akali simply waited, standing where she obediently, confused and somewhat scared. It wasn't until she had noticed Shen in the distance, moving the elderly, children and women toward the exits of the temple did Akali realise something was very, very wrong.

Gripping her weapons, she made her way toward the Master's building, a slight feeling of deja vu overcoming her. The last time she headed to the Master's building through this way, Zed had been exiled. But now…

The steps of the Master's building was awash with crimson, a single dead body lay on top of the steps, headless. Where was…

She felt her foot brush against something heavy at the bottom of the steps.  
A head. A familiar face.

The taste of bile rushed up into her mouth, her face tinged with green and despair. A hand came up, covering her lips as she raised her cooper eyes away from the decapitated head. What she saw next was not any better.

Standing at the top of the steps, gazing down at her was a figure in a metallic mask, his crimson eyes practically boring into her skull. The crimson eyes were familiar, eyes that she had seen thousands of times, eyes that she had always adored.

"…Sensei…" she muttered weakly, taking a step back in surprise, "Why?"

Again, just like the last time she had uttered that very word, no answer came from him. Only a hand reaching out to her.

"You can come with me this time, Akali," he spoke, his voice reverberating somewhat through the mask.

"Why, Zed?!" she asked, her voice cracking with anguish, "How could you do this? He was your father!"

"HE WAS NEVER MY FATHER!" Zed's voice lashed out like a whip, cutting her words. Akali flinched. Zed had never spoken to her that way before, "A father would never have pitted his sons together, never would have favoured one over the other. He was never my father, Akali. We are orphans, you and I."

He extended his hand once more, "Come."

For a moment she simply stood there, gazing back between Zed and Master's head.

"This is wrong…" she whispered, her hands gripping her kamas, knuckles turning white, "This isn't right."

And she moved into combat position, the kamas in her hands feeling heavier than ever.

"Is that what you believe, Akali?" Zed asked, his voice a low growl, "Such potential you have, Akali. And you choose to waste it here?"

Blades came from the sheaths on his hands and Akali knew there was no turning back.

Exhaling, Akali dashed forward, going for a frontal attack, the same technique her former mentor had taught her. Kama raised, Akali slashed forward, aiming for his throat.

But the metal his nothing. Nothing but a shadow.

A chuckle came from behind her. Before she could turn, she felt a strike to her face, then her gut, her small frame launched backward into a pillar behind her, the impact cracking the wooden pole slightly.

"Predictable as usual. I see Shen had made no improvements with you," Zed said. He struck forward, the blade going straight for her head. Without missing a beat, Akali dodged, the blade missing her face by mere inches.

"Shut up!" she screamed, sending a blow toward Zed which he easily dodged. Jumping up, Akali prepared to strike. Again, Zed disappeared, only a shadow remaining.

Before her feet could reach the ground once more, a strong iron grip managed to capture her throat while the other easily disarmed her kamas, sending them clanging down onto the floor. Akali's feet dangled uselessly in the air as her hands clawed Zed's trying to break free.

"Last chance, Akali," he said coldly, "Join me."

"I'd rather die," came her response.

"Then so be it."

It was strange how when the advantage presented itself for him to simply take her life, he froze. The copper eyes that stared into his, filled with rage and disdain. He had never seen it before.

And it hurt him more than any blow ever could.

Growling with anger, his arm moved, striking her head with the blunt side of the blade, knocking her unconscious.

"You fool…" he said, throwing her unconscious from onto the ground, sending Akali rolling down the bloodstained steps. However, before she could hit the bottom of the step, Shen appeared, picking her up and cradling her gingerly. And then he fled, knowing that at that state, he could do nothing against the Master of Shadows.


End file.
